


Waiting (For A Lifetime)

by IvoryCrow



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, I Will Go Down With This Ship, M/M, Multi, Spoilers, season 8 AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-21 16:16:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17046836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IvoryCrow/pseuds/IvoryCrow
Summary: “I would go to the ends of any universe for you.” Keith admits easily, again and again. He's the living proof of it after all. Keith would tear through galaxies, through life and death, for him.Shiro smiles, because he would do just the same. "Come back to me.”“As many times it takes.”





	Waiting (For A Lifetime)

**Author's Note:**

> Not gonna lie, I didn't make it through S8. So I wrote this for the last two days instead.

  
-

Allura gives watery smile and throws her arms around Lance. “I have to do this.” But it’s Keith who presses a hand against her shoulder and Pidge takes her hand. Hunk presses against her side, cheek to the top of her head. Shiro can only feel the weight of Atlas in the back of his head.

“Please,” She says and Lance shakes his head.

“Not alone. Never again.”

“I’ll go with you.” Pidge volunteers first as Keith brushes a tear away from Allura's cheek. She grins at him and winks, “I think the Universe can do without another Holt for a little while.”

Hunk snorts, “As if. I know I need you both and I love you too much.”  

“There’s no way you guys are going to leave me here. Not when she’s the love of my life.” Lance says it with so much love, Allura pulls him into another kiss.

“We are the paladins of Voltron. We’re a family, a team. It’s all of us or none.” Keith smiles and Shiro swallows when he looks at him. They’ve grown so much and so strong. “That’s what we do.”

They look at Shiro who can only sigh deeply. “I - I would never stop you.”

Allura sobs and Pidge nods. Keith steps towards him and she clears her throat, “We are stronger together, as Voltron, Atlas. Us.” Her eyes soften, “While we will need an anchor to arrive back, Coran would be enough. You can come with us, Shiro.”

He only looks at Keith. His expression breaks but Shiro smiles anyways, “It looks like it’s your turn to reach for the stars, Keith. I believe in you.” He looks at the rest of his family, “In all of you. With Voltron gone, Atlas will be needed more than ever. We will establishing the same comradery across the universe. Rogue Galra forces still control the outskirts and we need the crisis support. I’ll be waiting on this side - we’ll get you back when you’re ready.”

Allura hugs him first. She presses her forehead against his and kisses his cheek. “We will find you.” Lance follows, one arm around his shoulder, and punches his shoulder as he pulls away. “You’ll always be my hero.”

Pidge cries harder but she smiles through it when he tightens his arms around her. “Take care of everyone until we get back.” Shiro nods without hesitation. Hunk hugs him after, with one last smile. “See you soon.”

The paladins disappear against the light, following Honerva. The last one standing is Keith who gives him a smile. The same smile he only wears for Shiro. “I’ll be back before you know it.”  He says it with confidence. The same confidence Shiro had when he was leaving for Kerberos.

“Keith.” Shiro chokes up. “I love you.” _Brother. Family. Love_. He laughs, the sound half caught in a sob. “I love you so much.”

“I would go to the ends of any universe for you.” Keith admits easily, again and again. He's the living proof of it, after all. Keith would tear through galaxies, through life and death, for him. 

Shiro smiles, because he would do just the same. “Come back to me.”

“As many times it takes.” 

-

Shiro tells their families himself.

He confesses it to Hunks parents first, who smile with understanding beyond his years. They give him recipes instead, waving away his concern. “He’s saving the universe.” His mother smiles, “He’s exactly where he wants to be.”

Lance’s family takes it just as well, they sit him down for dinner and ramble on about Lance as a child. Veronica smiles when he catches her eye, “Lance always comes back. He promised.” Their mother winks and hides a watery smile.

Commander Holt already knows. He watched the lions disappear and Shiro arrive back to the Atlas alone. Matt just smiles through his tears over the com-link and Colleen only sighs, kissing Shiro’s cheek.

Coran drinks himself under the table a week after, only once. He doesn’t drink ever again and just waits for his child to come home.

Keith’s mother is the last one he tells but he never says anything. She only looks at him once, taking in the bags under his eyes and Kosmo at his side. Krolia only pulls him against her chest and he sobs for the first time in months.

- 

Voltrons disappearance brings challenges they expected. The Atlas extends their reach with skilled MFE fighters that border on the skill of the paladins. Captain Shirogane’s name is whispered among refugees and pirates alike. The Gladiator, the Black Paladin, _Atlas_. They nickname him the White Lion.

The Blades do not have the same problem. They are faceless and numerous, with their ranks varying from Galra to Human. But they are part of Atlas, Shiro always welcoming any Blade aboard his ship. And that’s where the gossip begins.

The death of Voltron is the first and the shortest lived. It is not Shiro who puts an end to it — he stands still when he hears the whispers. Motionless. Numb. Krolia slams her fist against the table with her lip curled over her teeth, “Do not speak of things you don’t know.”

Silence deafens across the cafeteria. Shiro disappears with his lunch and Kosmo. No one mentions Voltron again.

Instead, they whisper about a boy who fell in love with his best friend.

- 

Without a doubt, Coran misses Allura. She’s the light of his life and he has never loved anyone more. She is his light in the dark, a daughter he was blessed with. He saw her grow and fight and love. Now, it’s lonelier. The mice keep him company but it’s could never be the same.

Instead, he watches Shiro. The Captain of the Atlas is no easy feat but Shiro is a natural. The Black Paladin shines through and it has always been obvious. There is something cosmic in him, something that runs through his veins.

Something that Curtis can obviously see. He leans into Shiro’s space like a moth to the flame and Coran can’t blame him. Shiro has that effect on practically everyone. But Curtis lays it thick like honey, and Coran almost chokes when he hears him the first time. He tugs at his mustache with an embarrassed cough that causes Curtis to snap out of his trace with a blush.

Coran knows a lot of things. Shiro has not slept more than four hours a night for the last year since Voltron departed their reality. There is now an abundance of coffee in the kitchen that Veronica has been thanking her god for. Kosmo does not eat until Shiro does and Shiro no longer forgets. Atlas changes with her captains’ mood, the loneliness hanging over them on the worst of days.

Coran never asked and only assumed — the love between them has always been plain to see. Keith has crossed the universe for Shiro. He would die for him, if they’d let him. There is no doubt that Shiro would do the same.

Captain Shirogane does not notice. He faces forward, eyes to the stars.

There is only Keith.

  
-

Matt licks his teeth and taps the screen, “Well, if it isn’t my favorite pirates.”

“Address us with proper respect, human. We are members of the Blade.” Ezor huffs, leaning back against her chair. Her mouth splits into a smile, “Where’s your girlfriend?”

He rolls his eyes, “My girlfriend is busy. Cap’ got us running on deliveries. Us, on deliveries. We were rebels once, y’anno.”

Zethrid rubs her temples and grunts, “What did you want, boy?”

“Well, we need more supplies. We ran into some trouble and our cargo ended up slightly crispy. I’ll send coordinates.” His feed flickers before he sighs, “Any signs?”

“No Voltron. We mapped this quadrant entirely for Kolivan but still no sign of them. Tell the Captain we’ll call if we find anything.” Ezor sighs like she has said the same a thousand times before. And she has.

Zethrid copies the coordinates from over her shoulder, “See you soon, robot-boy.”

-

“It’s been over two years.” James says, drowning another beer. Ryan shrugs and Nadia sighs, “They have their mission and we have ours.”

Ina takes a sip from her water and looks over at the Captain. Captain Shirogane nurses his own beer with Kosmo sprawled on the floor behind him and Romelle sporting a bottle of vodka across from him.

“Taking into consideration the emotional attachments the Captain has, it’s reasonable to assume he knows something we don't.” She says, “Were Voltron to truly be in peril, Atlas would be using any available resources to find them.”

“We have two pilots who are continuously sent out into the far reaches and he doesn’t tell us why. Coran is always watching the broadcasts. Romelle isn’t even here often enough to know what she’s up too! Even the dog disappears for hours on end when the Captain is locked in his office!”

“It’s a wolf.”

“I don’t care!” He hisses at Nadia who huffs. “I want to know why we aren’t out there looking them as well!”

“Because he’s not looking — not really.” Veronica says, sliding into the seat beside Ina. She grabs Ryan’s beer and finishes it in one go. He glowers at her.

James frowns, “What is he doing then?”

“He’s waiting.”

- 

Atlas feels the call first. She vibrates with excitement and energy. Shiro barely reaches the bridge in time to see her release a single full-powered shot. He stares as it cascades before them like a firework shattering into an ocean of stars. The space-rift widens as their reality shivers and the Atlas shudders with the wave of kinetic energy it releases.

Alarms blare around them and Coran shouts behind him. Shiro hears nothing; he steps closer to the windows. A single white paw stretches out with five bodies laying across the starlight fur, armored and protected. It pulls back and cosmic eyes stare through the rift.  
  
_If the time comes where Voltron is needed once more, the lions will return_ . The white lion whispers, _It was an honor, Takashi Shirogane._

It's Pidge who finds him first. The doors open wide as Atlas shivers with the swelling adoration in his heart. She skids to a stop and smiles. She’s taller, almost reaching his shoulder and her hair is cut too similar. Out of breath and flushing under his gaze, she tugs at her bangs with her sides shaved short. “Don’t say anything!"

Shiro laughs. He leans hard on her and she carries the weight too easily. Pidge giggles against his shoulder, "We missed you."  
  
"One person in particular missed you the most." Hunk says behind her, a grin across his face. Hes older, barely breaking into his twenties. He pulls both of them into a hug and squeezes. "And it’s _not_ Pidge. Her growth spurt finally caught up to her though. See that? It was all thanks to my interdimensional cuisine, mostly."  
  
"If I ever need to eat space whale again, I will kill someone." She growls from under an arm and shimmies out of the tight grip. “Watch. I’m going to tell Shay the torture you put us through.”

Allura enters with a hand tucked into Lances’ and the other hiding her smile. Her hair is longer, half tucked into a bun, and she holds the same grace as always. Lance hasn’t changed either. He groans, "No more space creature meals for me either, please." He has smudges of Altean marks that match Alluras and they wear matching bands.

Allura catches his gaze and winks, "It’s not exactly a wedding without our families. Not yet."  
  
"Six years is a long time, Shiro. We’re catching up you old man. This was pretty recent though." Lance says, pointing at his cheeks, "I’ll admit I didn’t expect the tattoos to be a fiance requirement." Allura punches his arm.

“Six — It’s only been three years.” Shiro says with a frown, he’s been counting each day.   
  
“Time is, as usual, quite strange.” Allura kisses his cheek. "You look as strong as always."  
  
Lance mutters something about a body like Adonis and he drags Shiro into a hug as well. The Blue Paladin smirks when he leans back, "We didnt take too long, did we?"  
  
"I would have waited for a few more years before really looking for you." Shiro admits. "But I thought I would be a little more patient."  
  
"I dunno, I kind of like the idea - former Black Paladin, Captain of the Atlas, tearing through dimensions looking for his teammates." Keith leans again the doorway, "Should we go back to the beginning, one more time? I think Sven had a few odd jobs left for us if we ever wanted to return. Akira too."  
  
It knocks the breath out of him. His Keith, broader shoulders, hair braided behind his back. If there was any doubt Krolia was his mother, it would be even more obvious now.  
  
Shiro swallows, "I don't know if I can let any of you go again, not where I can’t reach you." It would hardly be impossible, Shiro would tear through any universe for him. He pauses, "But, Keith. I don't think I can let you go again… not without me."  
  
Keith gives him a soft look, the one he dreams about. The one he’s missed. He smiles and says: "Come with me."

-

  
There are no calls from Captain Allura or Kolivan tonight. Pidge checked in days ago, dedicating to her research with the Olkari. Hunk reported the Balmera to be steadily restoring to it’s previous glory that same morning. Sargent McClain is stationed aboard the Atlas, circling the milky way and training MFE fighters. He called the team a week ago, demanding birthday gifts for the twins. 

The Blade of Marmora armor fit him well enough, Shiro seems to muse every time he unstraps the chest piece. Here, there are no Paladins, no Captains. Just two nameless Blades charting the stars. Keith watches with a fond gaze and Shiro drops to his knees beside him.

Keith says, “My family.” A kiss. “My universe.” Another. “My love.” He gives a wicked smile, the half-Galra blood shines through, “My husband.” Shiro laughs and the meteorite rings lined with Atlas steel brightens against their fire.

Tonight, they marry under an unnamed moon in a galaxy far beyond with only Kosmo as their witness.

Tonight, there is only Shiro and Keith.

**Author's Note:**

> *I will go down with /these/ ships* So I may usually be a huge multi-shipper but I'm a Allurance/Sheith fan over everything in Voltron. 
> 
> I'm not crying, you're crying. 
> 
> AND THEN THE LAST KH3 TRAILER DROPPED TODAY and that has nothing to do with Voltron but basically — my heart has been pulled out of my chest twice. My emotions are haywire.
> 
> Anyways, I only read this over twice. Let me know if there's any blaring mistakes. Canon doesn't exist here so we're going to pretend they traveled to other dimensions, chilling with the Lions and Honerva and doing important universe-saving-Paladin stuff.


End file.
